It’s time for Lina’s April challenge. This time Lina had a rather unusual challenge for us, we had to select a random number, from 1-30, upon selecting a certain number she would reveal the dish allotted for that particular number. I selected the number 12. Hyderabadi Bagara baingan it was for me! For those of you are not very familiar with this dish, it is a very delicious dish from Hyderabad, India. Baingan – Eggplant/ Aubergines are mainly known as Brinjal in India. I don’t really know why I haven’t prepared this dish before, but thanks to Lina’s challenge I will be making this more often.
I really love how the combination of peanuts, sesame seeds, and coconut come together and impart this rich nutty flavor to the dish, making it quite unique. The mini eggplants are traditionally deep-fried, but shallow frying works well too. The roasted eggplants are then simmered in a spiced, tangy, nutty and creamy curry. It not only tastes delicious but looks beautiful as well. Hyderabadi Bagara Baingan is mostly served as a side with biryani or bagara rice. We had it with plain rice, however, this would also pair well with chapatis or any other flatbread. This vegan eggplant curry also makes for a really nice party dish, your guests will love it!
I visited Washington DC last month for the cherry blossom festival, it wasn’t peak bloom, but good enough for pics though ! My then virtual friend, Soniya had invited us over, since it was spring break as well, I thought it would be a good idea meeting her. So after chilling out a bit after arriving at her place, we headed to the grocery store, bought these baby eggplants and got to cooking!! Yes, I know weird right?! But we met through a foodie group so definitely there had to be some cooking done 😛
This bagara baingan | vegan eggplant curry turned out so amazing, everyone loved it! It’s a fairly simple recipe to execute. I’ve adapted this recipe from Rama Devi Vishwanatham who had shared it on our FB foodie group. She learnt this from her good friend Sailaja, so big thanks to you too Sailaja for your lovely recipe 🙂 Sharing some images of the beautiful cherry blossoms. I forgot to carry my camera along 🙁 I know, sigh!! Hope you still enjoy the pics 🙂
The judge for this wonderful contest is Jhuls@ The not so creative cook. Let’s begin with this delicious Indian style eggplant subzi, do try it guys, you will love it 🙂
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE INDIAN EGGPLANT RECIPES,
Doi Begun (Bengali Eggplant curry) Bharli Vangi
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE HYDERABADI BAGARA BAINGAN | VEGAN EGGPLANT CURRY
1.Dry roast the peanuts, coconut and sesame seeds separately and let them cool. Grind it together into a fine paste. Keep aside.
2.Soak the tamarind in 1/4 cup of hot water. Extract and strain the tamarind pulp just before using it further in the recipe.
3.Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a wide pan. Add the eggplant and cook on low heat until lightly browned from all sides. Remove and keep aside in a plate.
4.Add 3 more tbsp oil to the same pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and methi seeds.
5.Once they splutter, add chopped onions to it.
6.When the onions are almost soft & translucent, add ginger garlic paste and sauté for few seconds.
7.Next add the ground masala paste and fry over medium heat until it oozes oil from the side, about 2 minutes.
8.Add tamarind extract, jaggery, salt, turmeric, and red chilli powder and fry for 2 minutes.
9.Then add about a cup of water to it. Mix and bring to a boil.
10.Add the sautéed eggplants and tomato pieces, mix it well with the curry. Reduce the heat, cover with lid and let it cook.
11.Stir occasionally until eggplants are well cooked. (You can see oil floating on top when the curry is cooked). Add garam masala powder and cook for a minute. Turn off the heat and add chopped cilantro.
NOTES 1.The curry thickens as it cools, add a little water, mix gently and heat it before serving. Or add 1.5 cups water while cooking in step 9. 2.Post updated with new pics. 3.Made the following changes in the recipe-
The quantity of sesame seeds and peanuts reduced from 1/2 to 1/4 cup for both. Added 1 tsp jaggery Reduced methi seeds from 1 ts to 1/4 tsp
HOW TO MAKE HYDERABADI BAGARA BAINGAN?
I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your feedback with photos and suggestions to me at aromaticessence77@gmail.com You can also follow me on : Facebook Pinterest Instagram Twitter Regards, Freda
